I dont want my car to get written off

[Adam230K]

Right, so i came back from holiday yesterday, and the girlfriend came round to say hi and on our way to her house some guy driving an 'L' plate moped desides to suddenly stop at light that just gone amber, i had considerable distance from him so i stamped on the brakes as hard as i could, but all i could hear was the ABS and the car didnt make it in time so i went into his rear. He got off the bike and seemed fine, just had a minor pain in his back, so the ambulance came and took him away just to make sure that he was 100% ok but god, what a way to end a holiday!

Now i've got a shattered front bumper and dented grill. So obviously i did the normal thing and called up the insurance company so that they could fix it... went to their nominated garage only to be stomped by the estimate repair bill....

£2361 inc VAT

I asked him why, he then said "Well the bonnet is £3xx and the bumper is £270, new headlamp £1xx and the rest is paint materials and labour". I'm quite worried now because this is quite close to the value of the car, and i really dont want it to get written off as i've grown to like it quite alot (and its also restraining me from buying a V8 at the moment).

Should i attempt to go to another garage? or does this sound about right?? I could take a pic or 2 just to show you guys the damage tomorrow when its light.

I was also asked by the police at the scene to go produce my documents because i didnt have the paper counter-part present at the time of the accident (but i had the picture license). I cant find the damned thing anywhere, but i didnt think it was a big problem, so i just picked up the MOT and insurance certificate to produce at the police station only for the officer to tell me that my license isn't valid without the counter-part .

I cant find the damned thing anywhere... and DVLA take 10 working days to produce a new one... i'm really worried now.. Have any of you have something similar happen to you?

 

[230K]

Hi

Feel for you, what an awful end to a holiday.

230k

 

[st13phil]

Sorry to hear about your bump.

As I understand it, a failure to produce a valid licence when requested is an offence but whether it will result in any further action (I'm assuming that you do actually have a valid entitlement to drive) I have no idea. Perhaps one of our serving occifers will be able to give you the full gen?

BTW, I hope the moped rider really is OK too.

 

[neilrr]

I bought a W202 bonnet with grille, struts, bonnet star, squirters - everything - for £50 from a local scrapyard about 6 weeks ago.

Tons of 202s in salvage yards should mean you can fix it for less than £300 + paint.

 

[A210AMG]

Sorry to hear of this.

Try the DVLA help line if there is one? did the police officer not say what you could do if you have misplaced it?

Surely for now the picture, insurance, Mot etc is enough they can check the DVLA to make sure you ok to be driving etc?

How long did the police say to produce it?

Re the car, can you not go through the insurance? or is the moped person having to claim against you? Bad back = claim I guess....

If you didn't go through insurance you could get it fixed anywhere and parts you supply?

Do you have protected no cliams.


Hope you get it sorted.

 

[Adam230K]

I have 7 days as of mightnight today to produce the MOT, licence (with counter-part) and insurance certificate, and i have all except the counter-part (i have the picture licence card). But i dont understand why the even need the counterpart if they aren't going to give me any points!

I'm also pretty sure i can get it repaired for much cheaper than they've stated... i could probably even find a same match colour W202 bumper + bonnet, i'm sure of it! But i'm not even sure where to start looking for this...

Just so u guys know, my excess is £525... do you think it might be worth it that do some independant searching to try and get it repaired myself? As far as i can see its just the bumper and bonnet... The headlamp is very slightly loose, but it isn't even touched... and i seriously think that the garage are just trying to make money on it... not sure

 

[A210AMG]

Surely deciding to go through the insurance depends on the moped man.

Your car without looking seems to be fixable for around £600 (neirr as example with paint) which is about your exess.

If moped mans bikes twisted then that could be £1000 ?? plus his 'bad back' that means a trip to the local no win no fee for him and a free holiday (sorry) could be 2K for that.

So really it depends on moped man? I'm guessing if your cars got dints his bike will be pretty mashed?

As for paper part I would ring the poilce first thing tomorrow and explain you havn't got it (cannot find it) and can get one from the DVLA but will taje 10 days? Be up front first as thats the truth, see what they say.


Like you not sure why they really need it, surely they can check everything off your number plate and your details you already have?

 

[kwakdonut]

Am sorry to say that he had every right to stop at the amber as, of course, the next light is red! If he is riding a 'moped' then I am sure he is aware of its limitations, brakes, speed (or lack of) etc.

Highway Code states 'AMBER means ‘Stop’ at the stop line. You may go on only if the AMBER appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up might cause an accident'

Really sorry to hear that such damage has been caused to your PAJ - just goes to show how really careful we all have to be on our crowded roads.

Hope you get it sorted quickly and with as little fuss as possible.

 

[Adam230K]

You're right about that kwakdonut, but i'm not sure... before i make a sudden stop like that, especially if its not clearly red, i'll look behind me to see if anyone is near me... so if there is, i'd just continue through the light so i dont cause an accident. but i guess he didnt see me, and i also didnt fully anticipate that manovuer.

I'm sure he's going to claim and for that reason i think i'll have to let it go through the insurance company... but i'm sure he's ok... i know how hard i hit him and he got up and even made a gesture at me as to say "WTF!?", and when i got out of the car to make sure he was ok he started holding onto his lower back and moaning in agony... he could be acting or it could be shock.... i'm hoping he's acting.

I'll keep you guys posted!

 

[kwakdonut]

Of course mate - I'm not apportioning blame as obviously you were there and I was not - just stating a fact!

Unfortunately, our wonderful compensation culture means that yes, he probably will employ some ambulance chasing lawyer to grab some of our hard earned insurance premiums

As I said, we all have to be just that little bit more switched on, especially in the current conditions.

Again, best of luck in getting your PAJ sorted.

 

[st13phil]

The Police National Legal Database is a great resource for information at times like this. The link given provides the answer to the question "Is it an offence not to carry all relevant documents when driving so they can be produced for a police officer upon request?".

You can even ask a specific question, which should at least take the uncertainty out of the matter for you.

 

[andy_k]

sorry to hear about your accident but and I'll use your words here so as not to cause any confusion

"some guy driving an 'L' plate moped desides to suddenly stop at light that just gone amber, i had considerable distance from him so i stamped on the brakes as hard as i could"

The guy who was a "considerable" distance in front managed to stop correctly on the amber light.

Why could you not stop?

Why were you not slowing down because the light had turned to amber?

How fast were you going?

If you were a considerable distance back and he stopped after the light turned amber what colour would it have been when you went through?

Best of luck getting it sorted but as others have said you are going to have to go through the insurance

 

[Ade B]

In London amber generally means accelerate hard , you only stop a second after red, and that's optional without a camera..

I've had people sound their horns at me in a less than friendly manner for stopping at red lights before.

Glad the rider was not seriously hurt, hope it sorts itself out.


Ade

 

[rag1873]

If you attend at the police station with your other documents, explain the situation and ask for an extension to the time to produce the paper licence, an extension will be given no bother.

 

[Druk]

Even if moped man makes a claim against your insurance this doesn't mean that you have to use them to repair your car. OK, so you lose your NCB if not protected but there are hundreds of breaking 202s out there to get bits off. Do a google search on 'Mercedes breakers' for starters. Bumpers and grilles are easypeasy to replace.

 

[Dieselman]

I' i know how hard i hit him and he got up and even made a gesture at me as to say "WTF!?", and when i got out of the car to make sure he was ok he started holding onto his lower back and moaning in agony...

.... i'm hoping he's acting.

So do I..

To the people saying that he will try to make a claim for no reason, I would often agree but for someone knocked to the ground from a lightweight moped and still managed to cause £2300 worth of damage I'd say he's probably pretty hurt.
People can get up from even horrific injuries due to the adrenalin rush and endorphins the brain produces to over-ride pain.

Andyk has pointed out the driving issues, but I guess we've all been there..

I'd be inclined to let the insurance company sort out the 3rd party claim and you sort your own damage, as that will mean you don't pay the excess, unless they will definitely not write your car off.

 

[Dryce]

You're right about that kwakdonut, but i'm not sure... before i make a sudden stop like that, especially if its not clearly red, i'll look behind me to see if anyone is near me...

He can stop any time he chooses. It could be a child running into the road or another vehicle in front of him. If you hit him then it's your fault.

If you ended up stepping out into the road would you prefer an oncoming vehicle to check their mirror first and hit you - or hit the brake and stop in time.

 

[Dryce]

i know how hard i hit him and he got up and even made a gesture at me as to say "WTF!?", and when i got out of the car to make sure he was ok he started holding onto his lower back and moaning in agony... he could be acting or it could be shock.... i'm hoping he's acting.

I've been knocked of a bike twice. You can react very quickly to the initial accident. On the worst occasion where I ended up being flipped off sliding down the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic I had got myself off the road and to a place of safety without thinking. My arm injury only became apparent some time after.

 

[MBManInKen]

In London amber generally means accelerate hard , you only stop a second after red, and that's optional without a camera..

Maybe that's what some in London do, but not me and not most of the people driving around the part of London where I live.

But the real point is that just because others jump off the cliff, there is no reason you should do the same .

I've had people sound their horns at me in a less than friendly manner for stopping at red lights before.

Never happened to me but if someone ever writes off my s-class by rear ending me in similar circumstances, they're going to find that an expensive exercise.

In fairness, I don't think Rage is really arguing that the guy was at fault and as others have said, it could happen to us too, no matter how good a driver we (think we) are. I hope it works out in an acceptable way for both parties.

 

[Ade B]

I've been knocked of a bike twice. You can react very quickly to the initial accident. On the worst occasion where I ended up being flipped off sliding down the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic I had got myself off the road and to a place of safety without thinking. My arm injury only became apparent some time after.

The human body is a remarkable thing, when I came off at Lydden (all my fault) I didn't realise my knee had gone through my leathers until I peeled them about an hour later.. I'd somehow scraped off a 50p sized lump of skin exposing the actual knee cap - 5 hours later I was happily discharged from A&E with a few stitches. Before I saw it, it felt like I'd had a slight football knock... the scar, according to my 7 year old nephew is 'excellent'.

I hope the OP was not driving badly, accidents happen lets not be too judgmental.

Ade